The Seagull: Obsession Never Dies (Vera Stanhope)

Cleeves, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1447278364 ISBN 13: 9781447278368

Publisher: Pan, 2018

The Seagull is Ann Cleeves’ searing eighth novel in the bestselling Vera Stanhope series, about corruption deep in the heart of a community, and about fragile, and fracturing, family relationships.

Shrewd. Smart. Challenging. Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope is on the case.

When prison inmate and former police officer John Brace says he's willing to give up information about a long-dead wheeler dealer in return for protection for his family, Vera knows that she has to look into his claims.

But opening up this cold case strikes much closer to home than Vera anticipates as her investigation takes her back in time to The Seagull, a once decadent and now derelict nightclub where her deceased father and his friends used to congregate.

As Vera's past collides dangerously with the present, she will have to confront her unwanted memories and face the possibility that her father was involved in what happened. The truth is about to come out but is Vera ready for what it will reveal?

The Vera Stanhope series has been adapted as the smash-hit TV series, Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn.

Review:

The Seagull brilliantly evokes the run-down seaside resort of Whitley Bay . . . a mystery as satisfying as anything Cleeves has written (Sunday Times)

Nobody does unsettling undercurrents better than Ann Cleeves (Val McDermid)

One of the best natural writers of detective fiction (Daily Express)

Darker and more intricate than ever, [The Seagull] shows a new side to Vera as she confronts her prejudices and the past (Woman & Home)

Cleeves is carving out a reputation as the new Queen of Crime (Sunday Mirror)

Fans of curmudgeonly cop Vera Stanhope, prepare for a treat (Good Housekeeping)

A fine writer (Sunday Telegraph)

An excellent, atmospheric mystery. Ann Cleeves is our Queen in the North, and The Seagull another jewel in her crown. (Mick Herron)

I loved The Seagull - quite simply it reminds me why Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers! I relish learning more about Vera with each book, and The Seagull provides fresh insight into one of our most complex and lovable sleuths. (Louise Penny)

Many years ago, I was part of a team looking into police corruption. This novel captures the challenges and emotional issues such an investigation raises in a way I have never read before or since. (Matt Johnson, author of Wicked Game Big Issue)

Book Description:

Ann Cleeves, winner of the 2017 CWA Diamond Dagger, delivers The Seagull, her searing eighth novel in the bestselling Vera Stanhope series. A cold case takes Vera back in time, and very close to home, as she looks into the fragile, and fracturing, family relationships deep in the heart of her community.